Control shutter for engine radiators



1934. u. K. JOHANNSEN CONTROL SHUTTER FOR ENGINE RADIATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet l I Filed No v. 5, 1931 UDO K. JOHANNSEN INVENTOR ATTORNEY Jan. 9, 1934. u. K. JOHANNSEN 1,943,239

CONTROL SHUTTER FOR ENGINE RAD'IATORS Filed Nov. 3, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UDO K.JOHAHH5EH INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFWE CONTROL SHUTTER FOR ENGINE RADIATURS Udo K. .s'ohannsen, Cortland, N. Y., assignors to The Brewer-Titchener Corporation, Cortland, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 3, 1931.

10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the combined shutter and grille in which their common supporting frame may readily be attached to existing radiator shells.

The present improvements aim to enhance the appearance of attachable shutter installations by the use of a screen or grille-work mounted as a unit within the shutter frame and serving to mask my shutter devices therebehind. To this end, the radiator shell that houses the core and tank, may be given a U-shaped contour as formed up from a channel-profile strip. The front face of such radiator shell is herein neatly trimmed by means of a similarly formed framework carrying spaced inset panels with vertical shutter slats mounted therebetween; said grille is cooperatively disposed ahead of such shutter assembly in the same fenestrated frame that mounts :said slats.

The object of my invention is to provide for a simple and smartly designed automobile appurtenance of the character indicated, including suitable arrangements for building up a false V-shaped shutter front serving to effectively enhance the appearance of the motor car or truck to which it may be applied.

In order to accomplish the cited new and useful results, said improvements further consist in novel structural features and combinations thereof, also in an attractive, compact disposition of my shutter frame and attachment members, all of which will hereinafter be set forth in detail.

Reference is had to the accompanying two sheets of drawings which are illustrative of a specific embodiment of my invention, and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the general arrangement of an untrimmed automobile radiator prior to having my V-front shutter applied thereto, while Fig. 2 is a top view thereof inclusive of my shutter devices.

Fig. 3 represents a partial vertical sectional view of said radiator with my shutter assembled thereon, as taken along line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 illustrates a horizontal sectional view of the aforesaid assembly as taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an elevational front view of my attachable shutter frame ready to be assembled in place on the Fig. 1 type of radiator, a portion of the Serial No. 572,753

frame grille being cut away to more clearly disclose the slats lying therebehind.

Fig. 6 details a clamp bolt as taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5, that may be used in fastening my shutter frame to the core shell.

Fig. 7 shows a fragmental sectional view of .a modified or flat type of shutter frame associated with a regular radiator shell.

Referring first to Fig. 1, this is intended to outline certain of the more conventional motor radiator elements indirectly associated with my shutter devices including the following parts: the vehicle motor 10 mounted to bridge a pair of chassis beams 11; the sectional motor hood 12; ahoney-comb or similar type of cellular 7 radiator core 13 of rectangular shape; the upper radiator tank 14 and the lower radiator tank 15 which latter is concealed behind the frame apron 16; and a radiator housing shell 1'7 adapted to embracingly trim said tanks and the end 7 faces of said core.

In the present instance, the front face 13B of the relatively thin core 13 may be kept flat as represented in Fig. 4 while the front wall of the top tank is flared forwardly and upwardly from the top core edge for the purpose of cooperating with my V-shaped shutter installation. The desired ornamental car appearance is herein attained by the use of simple means designed to reduce the cost of shell fabrication to a minimum. Instead of the conventional stamped-up one-piece radiator shell, I prefer to resort to rolled or otherwise formed up sheet-metal strips having a modified channel shaped or G-like cross-sectional contour providing for a rearwardly extending offset or depressed hood-lip 19 adapted to house the core.

Such strips of uniform width are preferably given a U-shape as indicated in Fig. l of which the medial or yoke portion may be additionally bent forwardly into a laterally offset V nose 18 in the flute-like fashion represented in Fig. 2. The inverted U-shaped core shell is disposed to bridge the spaced chassis beams in a straddled relation to the radiator core and the respective depending shell legs running along the core end faces 13A, may be secured in place by the brackets 20. The complementary side-flanges of said channel-like strips such as 17A, are turned inwardly to provide for a smooth exterior webface for the shell adapted to be highly finished. When such strips are doubly bent as in Fig. 1, it is preferred to build up the housing shell into two separately formed and oppositely disposed pieces which are welded or otherwise fixedlyadjoined at 21. The resulting seam is shown concealed underneath the attachable blinder 22 which may be die-cast into an ornamental configuration and riveted to the shell. The rear 5 end of said blinder is socketed at 23 to mount the pintle of the medial topmost hood hinge. The flared front wall of the tank 14 preferably terminates in an overlapping jointed relation to the inturned forward shell flange 17A in order to reduce air-flow leakage around the upper tank. A tank filler tube may extend through aligned apertures in both theblinder andshell as shown in Fig. 3.

The last named figurealso details the disposition of the lower tank 15 which may be provided with a through tube 24 for engine cranking purposes. The separately formed and inset type of radiator apron 16 is mounted ahead of this tank and carries an oifset marginal beading designed to cooperate with my shutter frame presently to be described. The plan view .of said bead (see Fig. 4) is given a V-shaped Qcontour and the apron extends r'earwardly therefrcm'to provide foran air-flow seal.

25 v In order'tom'aintain the'desir'ed fixed width I for the finished web-wallof the radiator shell,

the topmost or yoke forming portion of the hood- .lip 19 may be given a reversed 'Vshape relative 7 "to'the nose 18 and the forwardedge of thesec- 1tional'h'ood'12'niay be extended to-followup "Qand'm'aintai'n its overlapping relationwith such counterpart lip indentation, as shown in-Fig. .2.

Turning now to the structural details embodied in'my attachable shutterappurtenances, theseessentially coinprisea common sheet-metal name 26 adapted to be mountedfwholly ahead Tof "theFig. 1 assembly as indicated inFigs.-2 and"4. This combined shutter and grille framework maybe stamped up integrally butis pref- "e'r'ably bent up out'of channel-'shapedstrips in the manner of the radiator sliell"1" 7,except-that T said fehe'strated frame ismajde'updnto separate 1' pieces respectively adjoined into I the endless or 1' annular fashion shown in Fig.1 5 and in "which 'fthe top and bottom bridging elements may each lfbeindented to conform with the juxtaposed V- fshape' given to the shell nose ldffsaid bottom element maybe nested and supported in the u apron-bead25 through asuitable cushioning me- 50 fdi 't1m 25A. The frame 26 may also be provided I' with'supplementary angle-shaped legs 27 adapt- "edlto rest upon the respective chassis beams,

The complementary side-flanges 26A" and 26B of said frame strip are also turned inwardly "as 7 indicated in Fig. 4 and the 'smooth web 'ex- "terior m'ay be nickel finished, The web-wall of. the frame 26 is preferably idisposed' to align 'endwise with the corresponding 'wall'of the'shell I17 "to constitute] a virtual continuation thereof, Q'theabutting corner regions. of the respective Tprfofiles being. kept relativelysha rpin order not .:to' accentuate the lo'cationof such "joint. The rffian'ge 26Bfis' spacedly japertured for the I that provides for a clearance chamber 42 between the front core faceand the flat rear flange of ption of the resilient bulfrbuttonsZB-of w ich the interposed head abuts' the radiator "shell for lcu'shioning purposes. jA plurality of .JLbqlt' .fasteningsf 29 may be used to draw the "f shutter frame"to ward said'shell; the hook fend of each such bolt being interlocked "b'ehfind' the W ,forward'shell flange l'lAfand'extendingthrough "the "front frame flange26Afa'sf shown in Fig; 6.

I The freethreadedshankend of saidbolt is preferablyfr'nade relatively long and" an acorn nut 29A after which the superfluous"sliank"threadmay ffta'pped throughout itslength is applied in place, i

spaced. The outermost edges of these sheetmetal panels may each be given an L-shaped profile-to-providefor an intui'ned panel leg such as 31A, that snugly fits between the grille and the rear frame flange.

In the Fig. 5 disclosure, the complementary upright elements of the frame 26 are shown spaced in 'asubstantially parallel relation, the respective outermost shutters being overlappingly disposed behind their contiguous front flanges 26A to adequately control air-flow through the frame opening. Where said frameelements slope toward each otherf the respective inset panel ends may be interconnected by stationary dummy slats 34A and3B to-square up and provide fora rectangular air-flow opening that can readily be closed by movable slats.

Carried lengthwise behind each innermost edge of the respective chord panels, is a channel-like slat-rack 33 secured to the contiguous panel face. These racks are purposely kept spaced from the inturnedframe flange 26A to allow of interposing a grille'therebetween. A series of vertically disposed shutter slats 34 are mounted between said racks and these'may be pivotally interconnected at their'respective uppermost ends to shift in unison. It ispr'eferred to divide the several slats into separate groups by 'means of sectional tierods 35A'and 3513 as linked at 36 for simultaneous movement. Any suitable means may be employedto actuate the shutters; Fig. 4 showsa cable 37 for this purpose which cooperates with the return spring 38. The'respective slat trun- -'nions align with one of the slat edgesandare disposed reasonably near the innermost face of the grille. The swinging edge of each slat opens inwardly away from the grille within the frame confines and when closed, the aligned slats. snugly approach the adjacent grille without being 26A and 26B was to afford a neat trimfor-the shell front. Said flange spacing is preferably kept approximately equal to the slat width desig- "nated W, in which case-the fully opened slats may extend outwardly beyond the rear frame flange.

Fig. 7 shows a flat or non-V-shaped frame 39 as applied to a regular stamped-up radiator. shell40 having a rearwardly faced marginal molding 41 my modified frame. In such disposition, .the

"respective'swinging' slat edges may be made to open into'said' chamber while'in'the case of'thc previously described shutter frame 26; its simulated V-front'mounting correspondinglyprovides for an interposed clearance chamber into which to freely swing the opened slats. For such infstallation, either one or both inturnedframe flanges may bebent or otherwise skewedinto biplanar relation'suchthat the oppositely dis-- posed and forwardly projecting noses 18 are made to lie in substantial registry with the intersecting line of said relatively inclined planes. That is to say, the face of said frame may be laterally offset into a V-shape to provide for a pair of bipartite wings of the kind that are cross-sectionally indicated in Fig. 4. The complementary groups of shutter slats are then respectively arranged in a straddled, lengthwise relation to such intersecting line.

It is emphasized that when the squared-up chord panels and the spanning shutters are given a dark japanned color, they then become substantially concealed behind the grille. In contrast, said grille is preferably given a bright silver-like coating, such that when the installation is viewed in place, the observers eye becomes focused upon the shiny grille without distinctly seeing or perceiving that a shutter is actually disposed behind such masking'grille-work. It will be evident that my shutter frame together with its panels and grille, may be bodily removed at will, although the controlled air-flow opening may readily be made sufficiently liberal that any seasonal removal becomes unnecessary. As a further outstanding feature, my unitary frame 26 cooperates with the radiator shell 17 in serving to cover up the unfinished tank and core fronts that are shown exposed in Fig. 1.

- The fabrication cost of my simple radiator shell falls far below that of a regular shell of the drawn type, the marked difference usually being such that after making allowance for said trim frame, the total equivalent costs including die charges, may be held down to a minimum without sacrifice in finished car appearance. Where it is desired to prominently display the shutter slats, the grille may be discarded without exposing to View any unfinished radiator parts, the frame 26 then being confined to shutter carrying purposes.

It is thought other advantages inherent in my shutter refinements, will be obvious to those skilled in this art, also that the described improvements are likewise applicable to radiator shutters which are kept flat rather than provided with a simulated V-shaped front, and that various other changes in the structural details may be resorted to in likewise carrying out the illustrative embodiment, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automobile shutter assembly serving to control air-flow between a pair of radiator tanks and through an interposed cellular core including a front face and complementary end faces having a U-shaped housing shell mounted astride one of the tanks to shelter the respective core end faces and the cross-section of which shell is given a channel-like profile of which one flange inturned toward the core, an apron mounted to mask the other tank therebehind and which apron is provided with a marginal bead that extends forwardly of said one inturned flange in a bridging relation to the free flange extremities, and a shutter-carrying frame of the detachable type exteriorly mounted in overlapping relation to the innermost marginal edge of said one flange and which frame is supported upon and extends into cooperative engagement with the apron bead to make an air-seal therewith.

2. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a housed cellular radiator core, an endless framework detachably disposed wholly ahead of the radiator housing and pivotally mounting therein a plurality of vertically disposed dull-finished shutters and further comprising a brightly finished grille also mounted within the frame confines and serving to mask the shutters therebehind, the shutter pivots being disposed in close proximity to the grille and about which pivots 'the respective swinging shutter edges open away from the 'face of said grille.

3. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core comprising a front face and complementary end faces, said core being equipt with a shell housing said end faces and which shell is provided with an inturned forward flange, an annular frame juxtaposed upon the shell flange having a grille mounted within the frame confines to span the annular opening therethrough, spaced complementary panel means also mounted within the frame confines serving to square-up said opening; a plurality of shutter slats carried by theframe and arranged to command theaforesaid squared opening, said panel means and the slats being successively interposed between the grille and the front face of said core, and securing means retaining said interposed members in the recited order within said frame.

4. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core having a front face and adjacent opposite end faces that are housed by a shell provided with an inturned forward flange, the combination of an attachable shutter-carrying frame whose cross-section is given a channel-like profile including inturned front and rear flanges, said rear flange being juxtaposed ahead of said forward shell flange, J-bolt means having a relaf tively long threaded shank end, the opposite end of said bolt being hooked to the forward shell flange with its threaded end projecting through the front frame flange, and a nut of the acorn type applied exteriorly of the last named flange to embrace the threaded shank end therethrough, the axial nut length being kept shorter than the aforesaid projecting threaded shank end and which shank end has the superfluous threads cut off flush with the outermost nut end after bolting up the frame to said shell.

5. In a unitary shutter and grille assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core having a front face and which core is housed by a shell, the combination of a single detachable frame mounting a grille and plural shutters in unitary fashion within the frame confines, said frame in its entirety being juxtaposed forwardly of the shell and serving to mask said core face therebehind, cushioning means of the button type interposed between the frame and said shell, and fastening means for attaching said frame to the shell.

6. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core that is encased by a shell housing provided with an inturned forward flange, said assembly comprising in combination an endless frame detachably juxtaposed ahead of said shell flange, the cross-section of said frame being given a channel-like profile including inturned front and rear flanges that are spaced apart, a grille disposed interiorly against said front frame flange, panel means mounted between said grille and the rear flange and which panel provides for a controllable opening through said frame, a pair of slat racks spacedly carried by said panel, said racks each being provided with a plurality of trunnion-receiving holes that are disposed closely adjacent to said grille, a plurality of shutter slats mounted between said racks and commanding said opening, the opposite ends of each such slat being provided with aligned trunnions respectively cooperating with certain of said rack holes, and tie-bar means for actuating said slats in unison, the respective swinging edges of said slats being disposed to open away from the face of said grille and to close toward said grille.

7. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core that is housed by a shell provided with an inturned forward flange, the combination of an endless sheet-metal frame detachably juxtaposed ahead of said flange, the cross-section of said frame being given a channel-like profile including an inturned front flange and a spaced rear flange that are interconnected by a web-wall and both of which flanges are laterally offset in the direction of said wall to constitute a V-shaped nose for said frame, shutters mounted within said frame and arranged to control the opening therethrough, a grille also mounted in said frame and arranged to mask said shutters therebehind, and air-flow sealingrneans serving to resist leakage between the housing and said frame.

8. In an automobile shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core having a front face and which core is housed within a shell provided with an inturned flange arranged to overlappingly cooperate with said core face, the combination of a frame whose crosssectional profile includes front and rear flanges that are narrowly spaced apart, said rear flange being juxtaposed wholly ahead of said forward shell flange and providing for a clearance chamber relative to said core face, a grille associated with the front frame flange, and a group of parallelly disposed shutter slats each having aligned end trunnions that are respectively mounted behind said grille in close proximity thereto and each slat having a width crosswise of said trunnions approximately equal to the spacing between said frame flanges, the respective swinging edges of the opened slats extending beyond the rear frame flange into said clearance chamber.

9. In a unitary shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a cellular radiator core that is housed by a shell provided with an inturned forward flange, the combination of an annular frame detachably juxtaposed ahead or the shell flange and which frame is given a channel-like profile including an inturned front flange and a complementary rear flange, a pair of oppositely disposed slat racks arranged between said rear and front flanges in spaced relationship to the last named flange, a plurality of shutter slats mounted across said racks, and a grille interposed between the front flange and the respective slat racks.

10. In an automobile shutter assembly serving to control air-flow through a radiator core that includes a front face, the combination of an annular frame having -a cross-sectionally channel shaped profile of which the respective flanges are inturned and a face of which frame is laterally offset into a V-shape to comprise a pair of converging noselike projections respectively disposed in alignment along opposite contour regions of said frame, a grille mounted within the frame confines in a contiguous relation to one of the frame flanges, complementary groups of shutter slats interposed between gr" lo and the other frame flamge, said slat groups being respectively arranged to each side of the noselilre frame projections, and means for detachably mounting said frame wholly ahead of the front core face in a cooperative relation thereto.

UDO K. JOHANNSEN. 

